1 An allusion to the Last Hour, when the world as known to man will come to an end and the ultimate reality of the hereafter will begin.

When5997 the Sky is cleft asunder;5998

5997 Cf. the passage 81:1-14 and notes. For the three parallel interpretations, see the Introduction to this Surah. There are four conditional clauses here, and the substantive clause is in verse 5. In S. 81. there were 12 conditional clauses, and the conclusion was similar, but not expressed in precisely the same terms. See 72:5, n. 6002 below. The physical world as we see it now will be destroyed before the final Day of Judgement, establishing the true spiritual Reality. In the following four clauses we have a reference to the Lesser Judgement, the individual dawn of the true Reality at Death. (R).

5998 Cf. 73:18, n. 5869. The beautiful blue sky overhead, which we take for granted in sunshine and storm, will be shattered to pieces before the New World is established. The partition which seems at present to divide things divine from the phenomenal world has to be shattered before each soul knows the reality about itself. (R).

When the Sky is cleft asunder;
— Abdullah Yusuf Ali

When the heaven is cleft asunder,
— Marmaduke Pickthall

When the heaven becomes cleft asunder,
— M. Habib Shakir

When the heaven is cleft asunder.
— Taqiuddin Hilali and M. Mohsin Khan